Daily Endeavor Blog

Andrew Zuckerman released a book and short film called Wisdom not too long ago. It’s a sincere achievement that captures the intellect and emotion, not to mention the lessons, of some truly remarkable individuals like Nadine Gordimer and Jane Goodall. He introduces it:

Inspired by the idea that one of the greatest gifts one generation can pass to another is the wisdom it has gained from experience, the Wisdom project, produced with cooperation from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, seeks to create a record of a multicultural group of people who have all made their mark on the world.

In his portraits, Zuckerman highlights, among other things, that learning is what makes people come alive. His subjects are testament to it.

To say it even more bluntly: at any given moment, you’re either learning, or your decaying. Each moment may be small, but they accrue over time and to great effect. Why not seek out work that turns you on?

Here are a few of my favorites.

Your best work is your expression of yourself – Frank Gehry

You don’t stop doing things because you get old. You get old because you stop doing things. – Rosamunde Pilcher

Who I am and what I need are things I need to find out myself – Chinua Achebe

One of the reasons I haven’t slipped into some kind of retirement is that I feel I’m learning something new all of the time – Clint Eastwood

You can’t get to wonderful without passing through alright – Bill Withers

I think you’ve got to learn to love something deeply…it sounds sentimental as hell, but I really think it is – Andrew Wyeth

Pick up the book for someone you’d like to see keep growing. Thanks to Mac for the pointer.